


Le Cirque de Rêves

by CabinOnAShore



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), Watcher Entertainment RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Circus, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Victorian, Circus, Happy Ending, Inspired by The Night Circus, Krampus Shane, Light Angst, M/M, Magic, Monster Shane, Secret Relationship, Victorian, Victorian Magic Circus, but more like
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:13:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28429104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CabinOnAShore/pseuds/CabinOnAShore
Summary: The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
Relationships: Ryan Bergara & Shane Madej, Ryan Bergara & Steven Lim, Ryan Bergara/Shane Madej
Comments: 11
Kudos: 26
Collections: Shyan Shipping Society - NYE Exchange





	Le Cirque de Rêves

**Author's Note:**

  * For [potatomustaches](https://archiveofourown.org/users/potatomustaches/gifts).



> I wrote this fic for Pot for the NYE gift exchange. I got a lot of blocks and had to edit fifty times over again but I still, somehow, finished before I thought I would ~~didn't think I'd finish at all actually.~~ I hope you enjoy it.

Le Cirque de Rêves, the Circus of Dreams. Shane had once believed the name to be true. He had once believed that the Circus was made of the stuff of dreams until he had happened to glance behind the curtain. Then he realized it was a nightmare, smoke that choked and mirrors that reflected demons.

Shane was a creature of the forest. His kind went by many names depending on their form, Goatman, Mothman, Bigfoot. He supposed he could be considered a mix of Goatman and Bigfoot, a giant with horns and glowing red eyes. 

He avoided humans as much as possible, they were dangerous. He always had a morbid curiosity for them though and when he heard of a circus of dreams, he could no longer resist his urges. He wished he had.

When he first went to the Circus, he was amazed by the crowds and sights and smells. Towering tents and fried food and people who complimented him on his appearance rather than scorned him. It was amazing. Amazing until the ringmaster noticed his "beautifully lifelike horns" and "peculiar red eyes." 

The ringmaster invited him for tea in his personal tent, an offer Shane knew he had no choice to refuse but he was cocky and thought he could get away before anything could happen. Before his consciousness could slip away while the ringmaster watched him with some kind of manic grin. Before he would awake in a cage surrounded by words he had never heard before.

-

Ryan was a little boy when he had first heard of Le Cirque de Rêves. It was supposedly the best circus in the word which was quite a difficult title to uphold in the eyes of a young child. He needed proof.

That's why he convinced his family to buy tickets for the next train to Los Angeles so he could see if this Circus really was the best in the world. He spent the whole train ride practically vibrating with excitement until they reached the gates of the Circus.

To a young boy, the Circus was the most magnificent thing in the world. He needn't step two feet onto the grounds to already know that Le Cirque de Rêves really was the best circus in the world. Though his objective had been completed, it didn't discourage him from enjoying the hell out of his trip.

He had never seen such things before. People flying through the air on swings and ribbons. Moving machines that looked like animals. Something called Coca Cola which only made him buzz even more. There was even a working telephone although he didn't know any numbers.

He had never been to the World's Fair but Ryan could only feel that Le Cirque de Rêves was something much more magical than even the biggest event in the world. His thoughts were only further cemented in his mind when what he saw ceased to be physically explainable and delved into magical territory as the moon rose higher and higher in the sky.

He saw a man turn fire into a bird which he turned into a hat. He saw a woman remove both his arms, place them on the table next to his, then shuffle the cards next to his arms. He saw monsters, living and dead creatures nothing like he had ever seen before. He could've sworn he even saw a unicorn.

When the Circus drew to a close, Ryan promised to his family that he would return. However long it took, he would return to the Circus. Return to his dream.

-

Ryan was able to make good on his promise when the Circus returned to Los Angeles ten years later. Ryan scanned the papers religiously, looking for any sign of the Circus hiring. There were none.

On opening night, he was the first to arrive. He spotted the ticket clerk making his way to the gate and he waved him over as politely as he could. He approached him with a questioning gaze.

"Can I help you?" he asked, his voice schooled into one fit for customer service.

"How can I get a job here?" Ryan blurted out, faster than he meant to. Embarrassment heated his face but he held himself steadfast. The clerk laughed but it was polite, gentle.

"The ringmaster will find you when the time is right." He turned and left before Ryan could get anything else besides his cryptic answer.

-

When the Circus opened its gates, Ryan was the first one in. He switched between flitting around the grounds and staying in one spot, waiting for the Ringmaster to approach him. 

His hope waned. There was still no sign of the Ringmaster nor the ticket clerk he had spoken to. 

He decided to grab a drink and just enjoy the Circus. He approached an empty cart which offered drinks and ordered a beer. His eyes were trained on the dying grass by his feet rather than what was in front of him but when he got no response, he finally looked up. 

The ticket clerk he had attempted interrogating from earlier stood behind the cart, his dyed hair framed his grinning face. Ryan felt his eyes widen in surprise.

"Congratulations, Ryan! The Ringmaster wants to see you." his announcement would've been absolutely astounding to Ryan if he hadn't said his name. He didn't remember ever mentioning it. 

"How do you know my name?" Ryan asked. He couldn't help but feel like he was frozen to the spot.

"The Ringmaster told me. He knows a lot more about you that he'd like to tell you about." The clerk's voice was nice, soothing. It dazzled Ryan and comforted him. He could trust him. What was the worst that could happen?

-

The Ringmaster happened to be a stout aging man dressed in a black and white pinstripe suit. He wore a top hat, a finishing touch.

"Ryan, I'm glad to see you returned to us again." The Ringmaster's voice was smooth but worn with age. "Steven? May you excuse us, please?" 

The clerk, Steven, nodded and shot Ryan another grin before dipping out of the Ringmaster's tent. Once he was gone, the Ringmaster leaned forward. His hands steepled on the desk in front of him.

"Ryan. I know of your fascination for the unexplained so how would you like to learn some of it? Mesmerize others as we have you." 

He didn't have to mull over it long. Memories of lights and magic having made up his mind long ago. He grinned and nodded, relieved and excited all at once.

The Ringmaster held out his hand and Ryan took it, exchanging a firm handshake. The Ringmaster released him with a smile and motioned for him to follow Steven outside.

When he exited the tent, Steven greeted him once more. He was nearly as ecstatic as him, all laughs and smiles as he toured him around the Circus. It was arranged in a spiral with all black and white striped tents. Lights hung on strings crisscrossing above the paths, a warm illumination. 

"What's that?" Ryan asked and stopped in front of a small tent Steven hadn't seemed to notice. 

"That? Oh, I don't know. It doesn't look like we're allowed in it. I can take you to your room though." Steven continued on down the path and Ryan trailed after him. He continued to look back at the tent until it disappeared from sight.

-

The rooms for the Circus workers were stationed at the back of the Circus, tucked behind tall tents that obscured the board. Ryan had expected a small trailer or another tent. That was not the case. Their lodgings was an actual two storey wooden building complete with electricity. 

"How do you guys move that with you?" Ryan asked. He had come to an absolute stop, frozen by amazement.

"Magic," Steven grinned. Ryan did not. "We don't take it with us, we set the Circus around homes the Ringmaster rents. It would be absurd to lug something that big around with us."

Ryan nodded as if this explanation made sense. It did, in some part of his mind. But he was confused and quite overwhelmed from everything that had happened.

Inside the building was a quaint living arrangement with multiple bedrooms. The bedrooms each had two bunkbeds from what Ryan could see as they passed open doors. Ryan almost tripped when he saw a woman twisted into a knot but the door slammed shut before he could inquire further. 

"Are there ghosts here?" Ryan asked Steven as he led him up the stairs.

"Maybe. I'm not much of a believer in ghosts. Are you?" 

"Well there's some compelling evidence that ghosts exist." 

"Really? Do tell." Steven had said it as a way of entertaining Ryan's ramblings but that was where his mistake was made. His little bit of encouragement sent Ryan into a full hour long spiel that kept him trapped in the bedroom he had shown him to.

After he finished his rant about ghosts and the probability of their existence, a now enlightened Steven led him back out of the house to tour the Circus.

-

It all happened a bit like Alice and Wonderland. He hadn't meant to get lost but somewhere along his tour he found himself stranded in front of a lone tent. Not being one to shy away from a mystery, he entered it.

As soon as he entered, light flared to life from no obvious source. It illuminated a room much bigger than what the tent had appeared to be from the outside. The room held nothing but a bare dirt floor and a large ring in the center. Inside the ring there was a man laying on the ground.

With a steadying breath, Ryan approached the ring. He stopped well outside of its range but close enough to see that the man was not actually a man. He had long, thick hair and horns sprouting from it. His arms and legs were covered in dark fur while his skin was a pale grey.

"You're new," the not-man remarked. He turned his head to study Ryan with dark red eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"How can I know that?" Ryan asked. His voice shook more than he would've liked it to.

"Because," the not-man, possibly not-monster started, "if I could, you'd be dead already." The possibly monster flashed Ryan a grin, the threat clear. His teeth were slightly this side of too sharp.

Ryan flinched and took a step back. The definitely not-man rolled his eyes and stood and, fuck he was tall. Ryan wasn't short, he was well average height, but the not-man towered over him.

"Why are you in here?" The maybe-monster asked. Ryan's eyes darted back to the still sealed entrance.

"I'm not supposed to be. I should actually be going now," Ryan backed towards the wall of the tent, hoping for the seal to be just a trick of the light.

"You're not gonna get out until they want you out. You're trapped in here for now." He sounded so calm that it somehow helped steady Ryan's racing heart.

"What the hell is going on around here? I feel like everything's running on magic. I don't even believe in magic!" Ryan couldn't explain the things he had seen and he was normally open-minded to the strange and absurd but this was pushing his limits. Moving lions made of solid ice, cloaks turning into ravens, fires burning white. He couldn't wrap his head around it.

"Listen," the monster paused, clearly grasping for a name he didn't have.

"Ryan."

"Ryan, what you're seeing out there isn't magic. It's tricks and illusions. Magic isn't real." He talked big game for being a magical monster himself but Ryan found himself clinging to his skepticism. He needed any sort of foundation to keep himself from spiralling.

"The Circus is known for being the greatest of them all. They have to be the best at manipulating their audience," Ryan rationalized. Magic wasn't real.

"Exactly. It's all bullshit." 

"Thank you," Ryan paused. He hadn't gotten the other's name.

"Shane."

"Thank you, Shane," Ryan said, it was genuine. Shane smiled at him and then looked somewhere behind Ryan.

"Seems like it's time for you to go."

Ryan turned and, sure enough, the tent was open once more. He thanked Shane one last time before he exited the tent.

-

"Do you know any Shanes at the Circus?" Ryan asked Steven that night as the Circus closed its gates and he got ready for bed.

"No, I don't think there's anyone here by that name. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering."

-

Ryan returned to the tent the next day. He wasn't entirely sure where it was, either in the northern corner or by the fence to the east, but he found it. The entrance to the tent didn't seal shut behind him. Ryan hadn't noticed it last time but now he realized the light inside the tent seemed to move like it was emitted by thousands of fireflies. 

He had brought a book with him, one he had found in a room he assumed to be a library which was written about all kinds of monsters. He was hoping he could find something about Shane in it.

Shane sat up upon Ryan's arrival and he could easily trick himself into believing the look on Shane's face was relieved. Ryan approached the ring around Shane and plopped down next to it.

"You're going to stain your pants," Shane warned.

"It's fine, I doubt anyone is going to care much about a pair of dirtied pants," Ryan shrugged his concern off. He opened the book to the first page and began reading. Shane was quick to interrupt.

"Don't tell me you came in here to read. I thought you wanted to spend time with me," Shane, in what could only describe it, pouted.

"I could read to you," Ryan suggested. Shane readily agreed and that's how Ryan spent the next twenty minutes reciting the pages in his best narrator voice. It was going smoothly until a few chapters in, Ryan came across mentions of a creature called Bigfoot.

"Hey he kinda looks like you." Ryan showed Shane the sketch of Bigfoot who rolled his eyes in response.

"Just because I'm one tall and hairy creature does not mean you can assume I'm another tall and hairy creature."

-

Ryan made a routine of returning to Shane each day. Since he hadn't been assigned a job as of yet, he spent hours reading from the book to him. Shane listened intently, providing witty comments and calling bullshit on certain parts.

"There's no such thing as gnomes," Shane said again for the third time since Ryan had begun the chapter.

"You don't know that-"

"Have you ever seen a gnome? Have you ever heard legitimate mentions of gnomes before right now?" 

"No, but-"

"Are you telling me you believe in gnomes?"

"I don't believe in gnomes!"

-

A new addition to Ryan's distressingly empty routine was bringing food with him to Shane as well. The Circus provided leftovers and it was easy enough for Ryan to sneak off with some popcorn.

"What's this?" Shane asked as Ryan handed him one of the popcorn containers. 

"Popcorn." Ryan sat down next to the ring and shoveled a handful into his mouth. It was orgasmic. 

Shane carefully placed a piece of popcorn into his mouth and emitted a moan that sent Ryan into a fit of wheezy laughter. Shane himself struggled with keeping down his giggles enough to not choke.

-

"You've never come inside the ring," Shane remarked one day after their meetings had been going on for nearly two weeks now. 

"Didn't want to intrude considering it's practically your house."

"More like jail cell. The wards should let you pass since you're human." 

Ryan trusted Shane. He wouldn't have returned time and time again if he didn't. This was a big step though. Trusting a predator to not kill you enough to drop down your shields.

That trust is what pushed Ryan to cross over the ring. To sit down next to Shane. And to reach out and brush a hand over his horns.

"Nice, aren't they?" Shane pressed into Ryan's touch, encouraging. Ryan trailed his fingers over the curl and ridges of his horn before he realized that the way he was looking at Shane, like he was something to be mesmerized by, while touching him was potentially weird. He pulled his hand away and busied himself with the book.

-

The Circus was moving. They had spent enough time in California. The Ringmaster announced their departure early one morning and now everything was a controlled chaos as the Circus was packed up. 

Ryan found his assistance to be unnecessary as everything moved around him. He stayed out of the way. 

It took an hour for the Circus to become nothing more than empty grounds and another for everyone to be boarded upon a train that would take them to the other side of the country.

Ryan hadn't seen Shane at all that day and the separation was beginning to get to him. 

He left his seat to move towards the back of the train but the door was locked, he wasn't sure why he would've expected differently. 

He returned to his seat for a record breaking five minutes before he was up again. Andrew, one of the Circus's cooks, cast him a worried glance but said nothing as Ryan hurried past him once more.

Andrew broke his temporary vow of silence when Ryan returned back to his seat. 

"What's the matter, Ryan?" He asked. Andrew was nice, Ryan trusted him but he wasn't going to tell him the whole truth of his meetings with the Circus's resident monster.

"It's-" Ryan stopped before he could tell him, it's fine , because it wasn't. "Do you have the keys to the other carriage?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Andrew asked as he rose from his seat.

"Think I left something back there. Thank you for helping out." Ryan followed Andrew to the door and watched him press the handle before it turned easily with a click. "Oh, was it just jammed?"

"Something like that. Hope you find what you're looking for." Andrew retreated back to his seat, leaving Ryan standing in the now open doorway. He hurried through it.

In the end, he didn't find Shane. He searched everywhere, turning over boxes and opening the door at the end of the carriage. He slammed it shut again when he saw the tracks rushing underneath the train.

He fell back into his seat with a sigh. Andrew looked up from his book and then set it down after marking his page.

"You didn't find what you were looking for?" He assumed.

"No. It's fine though, it won't kill me to live without it until we reach our next location. Where's our next location, by the way?"

"Paris," Andrew said simply and returned to being engrossed in his book.

-

Paris was something else. After a week's train ride and another week's worth boat ride across the Atlantic, they arrived in the city.

It was crowded and smoggy, similar to LA but Ryan loved it. He loved the sounds, the sights, the smells. It was familiar and new all at once.

They took two cabs to the outskirts of the city and an already gated and prepared lot. They just had to set up the tents. 

The Circus seemed to build itself in front of Ryan's very eyes. He knew it could be attributed to ropes and pulleys but the tents seemed to rise on their own.

It took less than an hour for the Circus to be completely set up in a nearly identical layout as it had been in LA. Ryan noticed that he hadn't seen the supposedly prearranged house before setting up but now it stood at the back of the Circus. Ryan opted to not think too hard about it.

-

"Steven, you do fortune telling, right?" Ryan asked Steven as he laid in bed, waiting for the Circus to calm down before he went searching for Shane.

"Yeah, you want a reading?" Steven looked up from the book he held open in his lap to Ryan.

"If you're offering," Ryan shrugged. He swung his legs off of the bed and leaned closer towards his. 

Steven pulled out a box of cards slightly larger than a normal deck of playing cards. He shuffled them before placing them down on a stone tablet. He looked back up at Ryan.

"What do you need to find?" he asked.

"I don't know, guidance? Where I should go from here?" Ryan shrugged, he wasn't entirely sure a stack of cards could hold the answers he needed.

Steven tapped the cards then shuffled them once more before he pulled the top one from the deck. He handed it to Ryan, _Seven of Swords._

He pulled the next, _Three of Swords._

_Ten of Swords._

_The Lovers._

_Eight of Cups._

Ryan held the cards in his hands and looked over the detailed paintings on the small surfaces.

"What does this mean?" He asked. Steven placed the remaining cards and his stone aside then motioned for Ryan to give him his cards. He handed them over.

"Betrayal, heartbreak, loss, manipulation, romance, and escaping." Steven flipped through the cards as he explained each of their meanings. "Seems like you're going to run away from a lover. They might hurt you. It could mean something else entirely as well. Hope that helped you."

Steven placed the cards together again and put them away along with the stone. Ryan rose from his bed. He had to go to Shane.

He fled with a feeble excuse but Steven didn't seem to mind. He ignored how he knew that the third step from the top creaked because that's the step that creaked in the house in LA. He rushed out of the house and past the tents until he came up in front of a painfully familiar one. 

The tent flap was open.

He ran inside.

-

When he went into the tent, he was met with already burning lights from no discernable source and two men within it. 

One man was holding a whip, the othis had horns. 

The Ringmaster circled around Shane's enclosure, snapping the whip everytime Shane growled. When Shane lunged at him, the knotted leather cord whipped through the air to meet flesh. Shane was bleeding, the Ringmaster was gleaming.

"What are you doing?" Ryan shouted. The Ringmaster didn't react but Shane whirled around at the sound of Ryan's voice. 

"I'm taming the beast. You were taking too long." the Ringmaster cracked the whip to get Shane's attention again.

"What are you talking about?" 

"I knew of your meetings, Ryan. I'm not daft. I was hoping you could train it but it appears that I must do everything myself." The whip struck Shane's shoulder. He jerked away with a hiss. 

When Ryan looked closer, he could see that Shane's eyes were black, something that he had never witnessed before. 

There wasn't much in the tent, the ring, the men, and dirt. But there was a thrumming in the air. Energy that crackled with every shift of the whip. Ryan knew it to be the wards that kept Shane trapped within the confines of the ring. 

He had an idea. It was a stupid one. Absolutely foolish. But it was the only one he had. 

Ryan walked towards the Ringmaster. He kept his pace slow, measured. One step, one second, one step. 

The Ringmaster didn't pay any heed to Ryan's advancements until they stood equal distance from the ring on opposite sides. Ryan was closer to the still open door.

Shane watched Ryan but didn't dare turn his back to the Ringmaster and his whip.

"What are you doing, Ry-?" Shane began but was cut off by the whip shifting across the ground in the Ringmaster's grip. 

"I'm still figuring that out," Ryan shrugged. The Ringmaster and Shane watched him with equal unease. "Shane, come here, would you?"

Shane took a step towards Ryan and everything happened all within the same moment. The whip snapped through the air towards Shane. Ryan shouted at him to get down. Shane listened. Ryan launched himself over the ring and towards Shane. His body covered Shane's just as the whip struck the ground where he had once stood.

Dirt sprayed them both but Ryan didn't wait to dust himself off. He was up again in an instant, his hand clamped firmly over Shane's. He dragged him up with him and bolted back towards the edge of the ring.

He could feel Shane's hesitation in the way his hand tightened and he stumbled over his own feet but he still kept up with Ryan. 

Ryan was the first to reach the ring, leaping across it easily. Shane followed not a second later, his hand tight in Ryan's grip. He made it across without even a whimper of pain. 

Ryan shouted when he saw Shane made it across. When Shane noticed as well he joined in and a few stray tears made their way down his cheeks.

"Okay, big guy, we're almost out of here." They were right in front of the still open exit, just a few more steps and they would be free.

"No, you're not," the Ringmaster spoke up from behind them. Their only chance of escape began to close. Tent fabric stretched out and weaved to merge together.

Ryan didn't stop. Instead he put on an extra burst of speed and rammed through the weak threads, bursting out into the sunny courtyard of the Circus. Ryan didn't even pause, he continued through the maze of tents and paths until they were out the gate.

He didn't stop running until they reached a road and was sure nobody was pursuing them. Shane dragged Ryan to a stop and behind one of the homes that lined the street. They were panting, ragged gasps taking in the cold winter air.

"Your horns are gone," Ryan pointed out between breaths. Shane reached up and ran a hand through his hair.

"So they are. Helps to blend in."

"We probably should, shouldn't we?" Ryan watched a carriage roll past, full of people with sufficient amounts of oxygen and without dirtied clothes.

Ryan pulled Shane out of the alley and across the street to a poorly tied carriage. He ushered Shane inside while he released the horses from the bar they had been tied to. He promptly climbed into the seat and snapped the reins. They took off towards the city.

-

In the city, they built a life. They changed into clothes they stole, cut Shane's hair with a knife they found in the carriage, and found a job from an employer that asked less questions than he paid them.

When winter arrived, Ryan asked Shane to travel with him. When Christmas came, Shane surprised Ryan with train tickets to Florence. They packed immediately, after Ryan showed his gratitude.

-

Florence was something else. Still a city, crowded, loud, and hot. But it was old. Antiquated in a way Paris and LA were not.

Ryan was partially surprised, partially horrified, when he learned of the arrival of the Circus in Florence. They decided to watch it from a distance. Never look too deeply into their dreams again.

-

They travelled next to Amsterdam to welcome the new year, the new century. 

The Circus followed.

They realized they couldn't escape it, it would trail after them like a shadow. They could do something about it, of course, a shadow wasn't impervious to light, but they didn't want to. They were fond of this particular shadow although it did tend to try to swallow them whole.

"Happy New Year," Ryan whispered as the clock struck midnight in the city.

And so they ushered in the dawn of a new era with a kiss surrounded by distant fireworks of the Circus, the life of the city, and a light dusting of snow beginning to fall around them.


End file.
